


Midnight

by sneetchstar



Series: Verona Society [3]
Category: Still Star-Crossed (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, New Year's Eve, New Year's Fluff, New Year's Kiss, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-31
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2019-02-25 19:35:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13219737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sneetchstar/pseuds/sneetchstar
Summary: Rosaline is forbidden from attending the New Year's Eve Ball because of what happened at the Yule Ball.  Benvolio still finds a way to get his kiss though.





	Midnight

They were seen.

Not kissing, but dancing. Dancing closely, with Rosaline “looking like she was thoroughly enjoying the young Montague’s attention,” according to Giuliana Capulet’s source.

A source she would not divulge.

For that reason, Rosaline, despite being of age, was put on restriction by her aunt and uncle and forbidden from attending the New Year’s Eve Ball at the palace.

She tried to get a message to Benvolio, but was never able to get an opportunity. All she could do was hope that Livia would be free enough to give him the note she impulsively thrust into her sister’s hand before she left.

So now Rosaline sits in her room, listening to the wind howl outside, knowing the nurse is stationed outside her door. She stands and paces, bored out of her mind, the dress she had intended to wear tonight mocking her from where it is hanging in her wardrobe.

She had closed the doors, blocking it from sight, but still knows it’s there. She walks over to her desk, where the journal, the one Benvolio gave her, lay open on the top. She sits and idly runs her finger along the ragged edge of the paper where she tore out her note.

She writes, she stops. She tries to read and decides it is fruitless. She watches the clock, wondering why she’s even bothering to stay up until midnight.

She gives up and prepares for bed shortly after 11. She climbs into bed a short time later, pulls the blankets up, and closes her eyes.

All she can hear is the wind. She idly wonders if she should have informed the nurse that she was retiring, but decides she doesn’t care if her jailer knows or not and if she sits outside her door all night, so be it.

It is a selfish thought, but right now she feels like indulging herself a little selfishness. She flips over, trying to get comfortable and quiet her mind.

But of course, sleep evades her. As she listens to clock tick away, her wicked imagination conjures images of Benvolio dancing the night away with other ladies, ladies who have guardians who will not disapprove of his attention. Images of Benvolio sharing a midnight kiss with someone else, someone _not_ her, someone who his uncle will condone.

Logically, she knows – she _hopes_ – he would not do such things, but logic has no place in anxiety.

She flips over, pounding her pillow in frustration, and resolutely closes her eyes.

_Tap._

Her eyes open. She decides it must be the wind blowing something against her balcony doors, and closes her eyes again.

_Tap tap._

She opens her eyes once more, and waits.

_Tap tap tap._

Now she knows it is deliberate. Heart racing, she whips the covers back and quickly pads across the floor, neglecting to put on a dressing gown in her haste.

“Come on, Capulet, it’s cold out here.” It is a whisper, pressed against the space between the doors, and she opens them a second later.

“What on earth are you doing?” she whispers, yanking him inside and quickly closing the doors behind him.

Benvolio stands before her, openly staring at her in her nightgown, his eyes roving over her body in a way that makes her feel very exposed. And extremely beautiful.

“Benvolio,” she prompts, waving her hand in front of his face.

“I believe it is tradition to ring in the new year with a kiss,” he finally says, being very careful to be as quiet as possible. “And there is only one person I am interested in kissing.”

“Won’t your uncle notice your absence from the ball?” she asks, despite the fact that her heart is racing and she feels warm all over.

“My uncle is not at the ball,” he answers, stepping closer to her. “He is… under the weather.”

Something in his tone makes Rosaline raise an eyebrow. “What did you do?”

“Capulet, you wound me,” Benvolio answers, feigning offense. His ruse isn’t very effective as he cannot hide the grin on his face. “Just a little extra something in his noon meal to ensure he would be spending the evening in close proximity to his chamber pot, that’s all.”

Her eyes widen, but she claps her hand over her mouth to muffle the giggles that threaten to escape. “You are horrible,” she says.

“And still you love me,” he blithely answers. They both seem to realize his words at the same time and she takes a step back, her hands over her mouth for a different reason now. He tries to recover. “Oh. Um. I simply meant—”

Bells all over Verona start chiming, tolling midnight, signaling the new year.

Rosaline steps forward again and seals her lips over his, her hands on either side of his face. His arms come up, wrapping around her, pulling her close, bunching his fists in the fabric of her nightgown to stop his hands from making the exploration of her body they so desperately want.

However, her hands freely move, one straying into his hair, the other clutching his shoulder, as he deepens the kiss.

She tears her lips away to say something, but Benvolio’s his lips simply travel, latching onto her neck, and whatever words were in her head disappear. The only thing that comes out of her open mouth is a nearly silent, “Oh…”

Rosaline doesn’t exactly know how or when they moved, but she doesn’t startle when she feels her mattress under her back, doesn’t stop him when he moves over her, doesn’t stop his hand from skimming up her side, even when it comes dangerously close to her breast.

She should be panicking. Should tell him to stop. She doesn’t.

She trusts him.

When she reaches up and grips his shoulders, pulling him closer, it is Benvolio who lifts his head in surprise. “Rosaline?” he whispers, blinking down at her.

“I do love you,” she confirms.

He beams and kisses her. “Oh, thank God. Because I have been in love with you since the masquerade ball,” he admits.

“Truly?” she asks, just a breath as he once again presses sucking kisses to her neck. She leans her head back, pushing it into the pillow, encouraging him.

“Mmm-hmm,” he answers. His hand moves again, his thumb tracing the curve of her breast, drawing a soft gasp from her. He immediately moves his hand and lifts his head. “Forgive me. I forgot myself,” he apologizes, bracing his hands on the mattress on either side of her.

She reaches over, wraps her fingers around his wrist, and returns it to her breast. “I wasn’t upset. Just surprised,” she explains.

His fingers automatically flex into the soft flesh there before his thumb skims across her nipple. When it responds, tightening under his attention, his eyes darken with desire and he drops his head, capturing her lips once more.

She softly moans into his mouth, her body writhing under his, wanting more of his attention. Having him here in her room is dangerous enough; having him here in her room, in the middle of the night, when she is not decently dressed and under restriction, is playing with fire. But this knowledge is making her feel a bit reckless, so she revels in his attention, not knowing when she’ll get this kind of opportunity again.

When Benvolio begins kissing a path down her neck, Rosaline can only encourage him. “Yes,” she whispers, and his thumb flicks across her nipple once more.

His lips are soft on the skin of her neck, skimming her collarbone and lower, skirting the neckline of her nightgown, just at the swell of her breasts.

Her fingers thread through his hair once more and her leg wraps around his, drawing a soft groan from him.

Just when his hand moves up and draws the neckline of her nightgown down, exposing her shoulder, a soft knock sounds at her door, followed by the sound of a key in the lock.

Benvolio manages to press one kiss to Rosaline’s shoulder before he dives beneath her bed with amazing speed and stealth. She just barely gets the covers back over herself in time.

“Lady Rosaline?” The nurse’s voice is a hesitant whisper as she peeks around the edge of the door. “Is everything all right? I thought I heard… oh.”

Rosaline feigns sleep, hoping the nurse won’t notice her breathing is still a little ragged. She knows the bed looks rumpled and so does she, but remains still, willing her pounding heart to settle.

“Poor dear, must have been having a nightmare,” the nurse mutters to herself as she closes the door. She locks it again with a decisive click.

Benvolio waits a few seconds before emerging from beneath the bed. “I should go,” he whispers. “If my presence is discovered and you are punished, I would never forgive myself.”

Rosaline holds her hand out to him and he takes it, sitting on the edge of her bed. “That was… kind of exhilarating though.”

He nods, grinning. Then his face softens into something more tender. “You look beautiful in pretend slumber, do you know that?” he asks.

“Stop,” she replies, biting her lip to try and stop her smile. Then she sighs. “And you’re right; you should leave. Now that midnight has passed my aunt and uncle will be home soon. They always leave as soon as they can.”

He leans down and gives her what he intends to be a soft, quick kiss, but winds up lingering for longer.

“Happy New Year, Beloved,” he whispers, pecks her lips, then finds the will to leave her side.

“Happy New Year,” she echoes.

He blows her one last kiss, then disappears out her balcony doors. She gets up and locks them, watching through the glass as he vanishes into the night.

When she climbs back into bed, her body is still humming with adrenaline and want, and as she tries to settle down, she realizes that if he had wanted to have her this night, she would have very likely let him.

Her last thought before she finally drifts to sleep is the echo of his voice saying he loves her.


End file.
